Stu's Hunt Down: Former Vikings defensive back Tank Williams

Blog Post by: Michael Rand

October 24, 2013 - 12:23 PM

Some weeks commenter RandBallsStu (branding!) writes about the Packers, but this just isn't one of those weeks. Instead, he offers up The Hunt Down, in which he tracks down a former Minnesota sports figure about whom you might have forgotten. Stu?

----------

The Hunt Down

Name: Clevan “Tank” Williams

Nickname: Williams was given that nickname not for his physique, but because he drank so much milk as a child his sister thought he could drink a “tank” of it.

Claim to Fame, Minnesota: a defensive back for your Minnesota Vikings. He was signed before the 2006 season but missed the entire season after fracturing his knee in an August practice. He did play in 2007 and started twice. I remembered him because his name was Tank.

Claim to Fame, Everywhere Else: the Stanford product was taken in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft by Tennessee, where he played four seasons.

Is He On Twitter: there are more than a few Tank Williams, but none appear to be him.

Has He Been in a Twitter Fight with Patrick Reusse: no.

Glorious Randomness: I wanted to do a Hunt Down on somebody from the 2007 Vikings, because that team, like the 2013 edition, also had three starting quarterbacks (Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb, and Grand Forks Central High School grad Brooks Bollinger). Unfortunately, I’ve done Hunt Downs of many of the more noteworthy gentlemen from that team, including Holcomb and Bollinger. So, this is why today is Tank Williams’ time to shine in the spotlight of a major metropolitan newspaper’s general-interest sports blog.